


Never Wanted to Leave

by Ao3andchill



Category: Game of Thrones (TV)
Genre: Episode: s08e02 A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms, F/M, The Jenny of Oldstones song inspired this, and the look they gave each other when Pod sang it
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-04-27
Updated: 2019-04-27
Packaged: 2020-02-08 01:14:10
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,092
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18622042
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Ao3andchill/pseuds/Ao3andchill
Summary: Their pasts have led them back to Winterfell.





	Never Wanted to Leave

He never wanted to leave Pyke.  
It wasn’t his choice to make. He never had a say, he was just a child that day, when he was taken from his home. Robert Baratheon said it was the only way for his father to learn, but he didn’t understand. How could he understand, though? He wasn’t old enough to fight in his father’s rebellion. He was just barely old enough to know that he was being punished for what his father had done.

***

  
She always wanted to leave Winterfell.  
Of course, she was the daughter of the Lord of Winterfell, and even though her brothers were never sent away to other high lords to be fostered , she knew that even in the case they would’ve been, she, as a daughter, would not get the chance to spend as much time as she wanted with some southern noble family, away from frigid temperatures and snowy landscapes.

 

***

  
He never wanted to leave Robb’s side.  
Yes, when he did leave to form an alliance between The North and his father, he did so of his own accord. Looking back, however…  
He never should’ve done that. Yes, it did lead to quite the learning experience that brought him to where he was now, but in hindsight, he could’ve, no, should’ve stuck to his principles and returned to the family that raised him rather than follow blindly in the ways of his blood relatives.

 

***

  
She always wanted to leave King’s Landing.  
Well, at least she did ever since she actually got there. The royal family was nasty to her at every turn. After her father’s death… she feared for her life at every passing day. She feared for her family. She always prayed. To The Seven, and to the Old Gods as well. In her fantasies, king’s landing was never this nasty, never this cruel. The capital was supposed to be an example to the rest of Westeros. Reality, however, had other plans.

 

***

 

He wanted to leave The Dreadfort.  
Even after his torture has ended – well, officially ended – and all that was left was a shaking, fragile shell of his former self, jumping at shadows and struggling to think any positive thoughts. He remembers fear keeping him in place. Bone-deep, soul consuming dread that if he tries to escape once more, he’ll be dragged back again and tortured even worse. When Yara showed up, he wanted nothing more than to go with her. To run while he still could. He truly wanted to. He just couldn’t.

 

***

 

She didn’t want to leave the Eyrie.  
Even when her aunt was being crazy. Even when Baelish threw said aunt out of the Moon Door.  She finally felt some sense of security. This was a place that belonged to members of her family. She never should’ve left it when Baelish did. She never should’ve trusted him. There were a lot of things she shouldn’t have done, but in light of her previous experience, she felt that this was an obviously bad choice on her behalf.

 

***

 

They didn’t truly know if they wanted to leave Winterfell.  
They knew that they had to. Truth be told, both have lamented this decision, to a degree, but it had to be made. They didn’t stand a chance against Ramsay when he still held Winterfell. And Ramsay was coming back. She froze, looking at the horses riding into the courtyard, and fear began to consume her. He gripped her hand tight and they ran. Up the stairs and onto the outer wall. They looked down. He stared at her, strengthening his grip on her hand. She understood.

“I don’t want to be forgiven,” he told her after they jumped. After they’ve met Brienne. “I can’t ever make amends to your family for the things I’ve done.”

 _And you don’t need to_ , she wanted to say. _Those of us who survived, survived because of our choices. We both survived. You, and I, and so did Jon. And whatever gods kept us alive, The Old, or The Seven, or the Drowned God, they kept us alive because we deserved to be reunited. Because no matter what we did, we deserve to get our home back. Our real home. The one we were escaping our entire lives in fantasies and dreams of better places, better lives._

But it wasn’t that easy. He was leaving this time. And he talked about going home.

Home to the Iron Islands.

She wouldn’t take that away from him.

***

When they met again, it was in Winterfell once more. They always met at Winderfell.  
They hugged, just like they did when they last parted ways. He told her she was right. That Jon understood the choices he had to make. That despite everything, he wasn’t angry.

She smiled, an ‘I told you so’ on the tip of her tongue, but she didn’t say it. She smiled instead, asking him what prompted him to come back. He told her that Winterfell was a home for him, too. That he cherished what it stood for. What it represented. Its people. The family he knows better than his own blood.

She told him she knew what it’s like to leave one’s home. That night, sitting among crowds of people, talking casually about the past with the steaming bowls of soup, as if said past wasn’t a nightmare. She said that it sometimes does not end the way one would intend it to. That there are bound to be some… complications along the way. And he listened and he nodded, smiling sadly. He understood.

He told her he was thankful. That meeting her again last time in Winterfell, after all their time apart, he knew. As soon as he saw her there, even when his mind was warped, that she’s suffered. They both did. She smiled and told him it’s all over now. Fantasies have led them to that suffering, but reality has led them here today.

Winterfell was just part of that reality, they knew. They didn’t need to say more, though. Didn’t need to specify. They understood. Like they did the last time, when they had to jump. Winterfell is what kept that reality alive. Then, and now, and always. And they would fight for it. Because as long as Winterfell was standing, they’d always have a place to come back to. And they would see each other every time they did. Like last time. Like years ago. Any time they returned to Winterfell, they both felt it.

 

They both felt that they never wanted to leave.

**Author's Note:**

> Episode 2 wrecked me and the Jenny of Oldstones song has tormented me the entire week.  
> If someone can please let me know that I'm not the only one who cried waterfalls while replaying said song 500 times, that would be great lmao.  
> Anyway I've been crying for six days straight and then I decided to publish this.  
> Theonsa crowd please don't kill me, I tried, but I know It's not great. Also idk why it changed the Theonsa tag to theonsa with lowercase t. Classic Ao3 amiright?  
> Thanks for reading!


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